Soccer to Host Oregon State and Oregon on Senior Weekend

TEMPE, Ariz.--  The Arizona State soccer team will play their final two home games of the 2019 regular season, hosting Oregon State and Oregon at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium this weekend.
 
The Sun Devils will begin their final home weekend with a 5:00 p.m. AZT meeting with the Beavers on Thursday, before closing out their home schedule with a noon match against Oregon on Sunday.   
  
"We have been working extremely hard," head coach Graham Winkworth said of the team's practices this week. "The team is completely bought into solving all of the problems that we have faced. Everybody within the program is working extremely hard to get some more positive results and I am very pleased with the effort so far this week."
 
The Oregon State Beavers will arrive in Tempe following a close loss to Washington last weekend. The 9-3-2 Oregon State team is led by first-year head coach Matt Kagan, who arrived in Corvallis following a two-year stint as the associate head coach for Mississippi State. In his first year at the helm of the OSU team, Kagan led the squad to an 8-0 start to the season, including five shutout victories. Things have gotten a little tougher for Oregon State with the start of Pac-12 play, but the Beavers have shown a lot of grit, winning a road-game over then No. 17 Colorado during the first week of October. Offensively, the Beavers have been led by sophomore Mckenzie Weinert who has tallied eight goals, while adding two assists on the year. In goal, Bridgette Skiba has made 47 saves en route to an impressive 0.76 save percentage on the year.  
 
The Ducks will arrive in Tempe looking to right the ship following a tough start to Pac-12 play. Following a 4-1-3 showing in non-conference play, the Ducks have posted a 0-4-2 record in league play. Offensively, sophomore Jordan Wormdahl has made the most of her 474 minutes played, scoring a team-leading six goals entering the weekend. Recently, however, the Oregon offense has struggled to find their footing, scoring just one goal in their last four outings, while allowing nine goals in that stretch of games.  
 
"They are a very hardworking teams," Winkworth said of Oregon and Oregon state. "Coach Kagan and Mertz have done great jobs at those schools. Matt Kagan is a new coach to the league, but he is familiar with the west coast and has done a fantastic job changing the culture within that group. I am really pleased for him, as a friend of mine, I am really pleased for him. Obviously our friendship goes to the side on Thursday night, but I am really happy for them. They are working extremely hard and doing well. More of the same from Oregon, they play some nice football. They are very similar to us in that sense. Kat Mertz is doing a great job and they are ranked highly in the RPI for a reason. This will be two very difficult games this week, but we are excited for that opportunity."
 
The pair of weekend contests will also mark the final regular season home appearances for a handful of Sun Devils. Following the Sun Devils' match on Sunday, the team's senior class wil be honored on the field. 
 
"They are a special group, Winkworth said of this year's senior class. "They are great players, but they are even better people. They have helped us form the culture that we are trying to create here at ASU that fits the environment that Ray Anderson wants within the department. These seniors have been a massive part of that and I am really thankful that we have gotten an opportunity as a staff to have them in our lives. They are such family people that I am just fortunate that they have been apart of my second family here within this program, because they are such great people."
 
Following this weekend's matches, ASU will hit the road to take on two of the nation's top teams. The Sun Devil's grueling road-trip will begin with a meeting with top-ranked Stanford on Thursday, Oct. 31, before wrapping up the weekend trip with a match at Cal on Sunday, Nov. 2. Following the two tough matches in the Bay Area, ASU will return to the state of Arizona to close out the 2019 regular season at Arizona on Nov. 8.